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Regarding the IQ gaps in the U.S., it has also been suggested that Black culture disfavors academic achievement and fosters an environment that is damaging to IQ (Boykin, 1994). Likewise, it is argued that a persistence of racism reinforces this negative effect. John Ogbu (1978, 1994) has developed a hypothesis that the condition of being a "caste-like minority" affects motivation and achievement, depressing IQ. Many anthropologists have argued that intelligence is a cultural category; some cultures emphasize speed and competition more than others, for example. Even proponents of the view that the IQ gap is caused partly by genetic differences recognize that non-genetic factors are likely involved. Non-genetic biological factors that affect IQ have been proposed. Increased rates of low birth weight babies and lower rates of breastfeeding in Blacks as compared to Whites are some factors of many that have been proposed to affect the IQ gap. The ] is often cited as evidence that average IQ scores have changed greatly and rapidly, for reasons poorly understood, noting that average IQ in the US may have been below 75 before the start of this effect, and thus some argue that the IQ gap between races could change in the future or is changing, especially if the effect started earlier for Whites. Regarding the IQ gaps in the U.S., it has also been suggested that Black culture disfavors academic achievement and fosters an environment that is damaging to IQ (Boykin, 1994). Likewise, it is argued that a persistence of racism reinforces this negative effect. John Ogbu (1978, 1994) has developed a hypothesis that the condition of being a "caste-like minority" affects motivation and achievement, depressing IQ. Many anthropologists have argued that intelligence is a cultural category; some cultures emphasize speed and competition more than others, for example. Even proponents of the view that the IQ gap is caused partly by genetic differences recognize that non-genetic factors are likely involved. Non-genetic biological factors that affect IQ have been proposed. Increased rates of low birth weight babies and lower rates of breastfeeding in Blacks as compared to Whites are some factors of many that have been proposed to affect the IQ gap. The ] is often cited as evidence that average IQ scores have changed greatly and rapidly, for reasons poorly understood, noting that average IQ in the US may have been below 75 before the start of this effect, and thus some argue that the IQ gap between races could change in the future or is changing, especially if the effect started earlier for Whites.


Some researchers argue that the IQ gap is partly genetic. They argues that while plausible environmental explanation for the lower mean IQ in Blacks in the U.S. can be offered in many cases, these explanations are less capable of explaining the higher average IQ of East Asians than Whites, and that overall the culture-only hypothesis is not "progressive" but "degenerating" (see ]; Rushton & Jensen, 2005). To support these claims, they most often cite: (1) worldwide Black-White-East Asian differences in IQ, reaction time, and brain size; (2) correlation between the extent to which IQ subtests measure g, the magnitude of Black-White-East Asian average IQ differences on those subtests (called ''Spearman's hypothesis''), and measures of those subtests' heritability; and (3) the rising heritability of IQ with age (within races) and the disappearance by adulthood of shared environmental effects on IQ (e.g., family income, education, and home environment). Critics argue that there are counter-arguments to these arguments, and present results they see as contradicting a genetic explanation (which in turn are criticized by those arguing for a genetic role), such as studies on ancestry, adoption, and cross-fostering. For example, skin color among blacks have an extremely low correlation with IQ. Some researchers argue that the IQ gap is partly genetic. They argues that while plausible environmental explanation for the lower mean IQ in Blacks in the U.S. can be offered in many cases, these explanations are less capable of explaining the higher average IQ of East Asians than Whites,(Rushton & Jensen, 2005). To support these claims, they most often cite: (1) worldwide Black-White-East Asian differences in IQ, reaction time, and brain size; (2) correlation between the extent to which IQ subtests measure g, the magnitude of Black-White-East Asian average IQ differences on those subtests (called ''Spearman's hypothesis''), and measures of those subtests' heritability; and (3) the rising heritability of IQ with age (within races) and the disappearance by adulthood of shared environmental effects on IQ (e.g., family income, education, and home environment). Critics argue that there are counter-arguments to these arguments, and present results they see as contradicting a genetic explanation (which in turn are criticized by those arguing for a genetic role), such as studies on ancestry, adoption, and cross-fostering. For example, skin color among blacks have an extremely low correlation with IQ.


===Interpretations=== ===Interpretations===

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Template:Totallydisputed Template:Race and intelligence2 Race and intelligence are broad terms with many meanings that are often used to describe and measure human beings. The possibility of a relationship between race and intelligence has been a topic of considerable speculation, study, and debate, especially since the 19th century. The contemporary debate focuses on the nature, causes, and importance of racial and ethnic differences in intelligence test scores and other measures of cognitive ability.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries scientific racism theories became quite popular, justifying poor outcomes and treatment for "the inferior race." Some early opinions about the differences among races grew out of stereotypes about non-whites developed during the period of colonialism and slavery.

Modern theories and research on race and intelligence are often grounded in two controversial assumptions:

While the distributions of IQ scores among different racial-ethnic groups in the US overlap and often have a comparable range, groups differ in where their members cluster along the IQ scale.

Much of the research on intelligence currently cited is based on IQ testing in the United States. There is much less data from other nations, in particular the developing world, and conclusions from the US data cannot automatically be generalized to the world as a whole. While the distributions of IQ scores among different racial-ethnic groups in the US overlap and often have a comparable range, groups differ in where their members cluster along the IQ scale. Similar clustering has been reported with related variables, such as school achievement, reaction time, and brain size. Most variation in IQ in the U.S. occurs within individual families, not between races. The disparity in average IQ test scores among racial groups does not mean that all members of one group are more intelligent than all members of another. Some researchers, such as Jensen, Herrnstein and Murray write that even small differences in average IQ at the group level might, theoretically, have large effects on social outcomes.

Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain why average IQ varies among racial-ethnic groups; most of them focus on environment ("nurture") and genetics ("nature"). Certain environmental factors, such as nutrition, are thought to moderate IQ in children, and other influences have been hypothesized, including education level, richness of the early home environment, the existence of caste-like minorities, socio-economic factors, culture, the effort gap, pidgin language barriers, quality of education, health, racism, lack of positive role-models, exposure to violence, the Flynn effect, sociobiological differences and stereotype threat. One focus of the scientific debate is whether group IQ differences also reflect a genetic component. Hereditarianism hypothesizes that a genetic contribution to intelligence could include genes linked to neuron structure or function, brain size or metabolism, or other physiological differences that could vary with biogeographic ancestry. There is also significant debate about exactly how environmental factors play their role in creating the gap and the interrelationships between these factors. Some researchers focus their attention on intervention techniques to close the gap.

The Bell Curve, a controversial book that asserted that the gap in black and white IQ scores was probably, in part, genetic, received a great deal of positive publicity, including cover stories in Newsweek The New Republic, and The New York Times Book Review.

Invented in the early 20th century, IQ tests have been strongly criticized, but are now considered to be relatively reliable, valid and stable measures of cognitive ability. Some critics question the fairness and validity of cognitive testing and racial categorization, as well as the reliability of the studies and the motives of the authors, on both sides. This has included accusations of bias based on the political ideals of the researchers or the funding agencies, such as the Pioneer Fund. Some critics such as Robert Sternberg, Stephen Jay Gould, Karen Lee and Gloria Ladson-Billings fear the misuse of the research, question its utility, or feel that comparing the intelligence of racial groups is itself unethical.

Robert A. Gordon, a Pioneer Fund media critic writes that ranking group averages "high" to "low" is not the same things as moral ranking from "good" to "bad" or an overall ranking of "superior" to "inferior". But not all scholars agree that the research has such benign motives. For example, Robert Sternberg writes that race intelligence research that focuses on a genetic cause for the gap is attempting to show that one group is inferior to another group. The conclusions of some researchers: that racial groups in the US vary in average IQ scores, and the hypothesis that a genetic component may be involved, have led to heated academic debates that have spilled over into the public sphere.

Observations about race and intelligence also have important applications for critics of the media portrayal of different races. Stereotypes in media such as books, music, film, and television can reinforce old racist ideas and may influence the perceived opportunities for success in academics for minority students.

Background information

History

Main article: Race and intelligence (history) See also: Race (historical definitions)

Richard E. Nisbett has said that the question of whether IQ differences between Blacks and Whites have a genetic basis goes back at least a thousand years, to the time when the Moors invaded Europe. The Moors speculated that Europeans might be congenitally incapable of abstract thought. By the 19th century most Europeans probably believed that they were congenitally superior to Africans in intellectual skills. In the 19th and 20th centuries research on race and intelligence has been used to argue that one race is superior to another, justifying poor outcomes and ill-treatment for the "inferior race". Some early opinions about the differences among races grew out of stereotypes about non-whites developed during the period of colonialism and slavery. Francisco Gil-White, author of Resurrecting Racism: The Modern Attack on Black People Using Phony Science and Stephen Jay Gould author of The Mismeasure of Man have both suggested that some modern research has similar motives.

Slavery and colonialism

Because the Atlantic slave trade raised moral questions from its inception, accounts were provided in the language of science that purported to justify the enslavement of Africans on the ground of their claimed limited mental capacities. Such allegedly scientific arguments about the mental inferiority of Black people were instrumental in keeping slavery alive as an institution in the United States. It was widely believed that Black people lacked the mental capacity to handle freedom. The writings of Sir Francis Galton, a British psychologist, spurred interest in the study of mental abilities, particularly as they relate to heredity and eugenics.

Immigration and segregation

The theory that there are differences in the brain sizes and brain structures that pertain to racial and ethnic groups was widely held and studied during the 19th century and early 20th century. Beginning in the 1930s, race difference research and hereditarianism — the belief that genetics are the primary cause of differences in intelligence among human groups — began to fall out of favor in psychology and anthropology after major internal debates. Anthropologists, such as Amanda Thompson, Franz Boas and Elazar Barkan suggested that "Scientific racism" had been used to perpetuate the idea of the intellectual inferiority of African Americans.

Modern work

The contemporary debate on race and intelligence may be traced to Arthur Jensen's 1969 publication in the Harvard Educational Review of "How Much Can We Boost IQ and School Achievement?" In the 1980s William Shockley, postulated, based on the research of Cyril Burt, that the higher rate of reproduction among US African Americans was having what he termed a "dysgenic" effect (meaning an opposite of eugenics), ; especially as influenced by welfare subsidies (e.g., AFDC), which he opined, unintentionally encouraged childbearing by less productive mothers.. Shockley proposed that individuals with IQs below 100 be paid to undergo voluntary sterilization. Press attention returned again to the issue of race and intelligence in 1994 with the publication of The Bell Curve, which included two chapters on the subject of racial difference in intelligence and related life outcomes. In response to The Bell Curve, Stephen Jay Gould updated The Mismeasure of Man in 1996. Among other things, he criticized the IQ test as a measure of intelligence, citing what he perceived as inherent racial and social biases as well as systematic flaws in the testing process.

Race

Main article: Race
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Race as biology

In the United States, racial distinctions are generally made on the basis of skin color, facial features, inferred ancestry, national origin, cultural background and self-identification. In an ongoing debate, some geneticists argue race is neither a meaningful concept nor a useful heuristic device, and even that genetic differences among groups are biologically meaningless, on the basis that more genetic variation exists within such races than among them, and that racial traits overlap without discrete boundaries. Other geneticists, in contrast, argue that categories of self-identified race/ethnicity or biogeographic ancestry are both valid and useful, that these categories correspond with clusters inferred from multilocus genetic data, and that this correspondence implies that genetic factors might contribute to unexplained phenotypic variation between groups.

A survey taken in 1985, asked 1,200 scientists how many disagree with the following proposition: "There are biological races in the species Homo sapiens." The responses were: biologists 16%, developmental psychologists 36%, physical anthropologists 41%, cultural anthropologists 53%. A survey of cultural and physical anthropologists done in 1999 found that the concept of race was rejected by 69% of physical anthropologists and 80% of cultural anthropologists.

Many alleles vary in frequency across (and within) human populations. Most of this variation is selectively neutral, but a significant number show evidence of recent positive selection. These include genes involved in brain development and other neuronal functions, which have variants that have spread to high frequencies under selective pressure and now occur in substantially different frequencies in different global populations. The actual functions of these genes, and their effect, if any, on IQ is unknown. (Discussed below.)

Race as a social construct

Robert J. Sternberg, Elena L. Grigorenko, and Kenneth K. Kidd write that the overwhelming portion of the literature on intelligence, race, and genetics is based on folk taxonomies rather than scientific analysis. Race, they write, fits into no known genetic pattern. Race is a socially constructed concept, not a biological one. This concept of race serves a social rather than a biological purposes. Different types of parentage have, at various times and places, given rise to racial labeling (e.g., “Aryan race,” “German race,” and “Jewish race”). Hence race is a highly inconsistent concept. In contemporary North American society, Blacks and coloreds are considered to be one “race,” since any individual who possess any degree of nonwhiteness is automatically grouped in the Black category. (see: One drop rule) In other countries different racial groupings are often employed. In Beyond the Bell Curve: Toward a Model of Talent and Character Development Serge Madhere critiques hereditarian assumptions about ability, biology, and ecology. He argues that the measures of ability assessed on IQ tests are essentially measures of literacy, which is largely a socially constructed outcome. This proposition is validated using data from a large national sample of students and hierarchical regression techniques.

The political, social and cultural structure of the United States is still weighted by race. It was only in the 1960s that racial discrimination became illegal in many areas of public and private life, including employment and housing, and some consider discrimination to remain prevalent. The national and state governments of the United States employ racial categorization in the census, law enforcement, and innumerable other ways. Many political organizations intend to represent the interests of specific racial groups. See the articles Race and Race (U.S. Census) for further discussion.

Arthur Jensen writes that claims that race is fictional, that races do not exist in reality, and that they are merely social constructions, which then imply that it is meaningless to inquire about the biological basis of any racial differences, are rooted in five sources which are political rather than scientific: (1) "heaping scorn on the concept of race is deemed an effective way of combating racism", (2) "Neo-Marxist philosophy (which still has exponents in the social sciences and the popular media)" (3) discrediting race itself (not just misconceptions of it) "is seen as a way to advance more harmonious relations among the groups in our society that are commonly perceived as 'racially' different" (4) "universal revulsion to the Holocaust", and (5) frustration with "wrong-headed" popular conceptions about race among population genetics experts lead some to "abandon the concept instead of attempting candidly to make the public aware of how the concept of race is viewed by most present-day scientists".

Intelligence

Main article: Intelligence See also: Intelligence testing

Intelligence is usually measured using IQ tests, both in research and practical applications.

IQ

Main article: intelligence quotient See also: general intelligence factor

All such tests are often called "intelligence tests," though the use of the term "intelligence" is itself controversial. It is clear, however, that performance in these tests correlates with performance in similar life tasks (school grades and, to a lower degree, college grades). The correlations between IQ scores and both school grades and achievement test scores average about .40 to .50. School grades are the better predicator of later academic success than IQ and the relations may be lower for specific populations. In a sample of 127 students enrolled in a private day school located in a large metropolitan area, the correlations ranged from .11 to .22 with the median of .18

These tests are often argued to be good measures of the psychometric variable g (for general intelligence factor). Other achievement tests are also thought to measure g (for example, the Armed Forces Qualifying Test and the SAT) While some psychologists today still regard g as the most fundamental measure of intelligence, others prefer to emphasize the distinctive profile of strengths and weaknesses present in each person's performance on different aspects of IQ tests.

Although the correlation is fair in areas of academics, the correlation between IQ tests and many real-world results is not as consistent. For example, while the correlation of IQ with job performance is strong, income is modestly correlated and accumulated wealth is only weakly correlated. The hereditary transmission of wealth via IQ is near zero. As commonly used, "IQ test" denotes any test of cognitive ability, and "IQ" is used as shorthand for scores on tests of cognitive ability. Some critics question the validity of all IQ testing or claim that there are aspects of "intelligence" not reflected in IQ tests. Historically, criticisms of the validity of IQ testing focused primarily on questions of "test bias", which has many related meanings. Several conclusions about tests of cognitive ability are now largely accepted by intelligence researchers:

  • IQ scores measure many, but not all of the qualities that people mean by intelligent or smart (for example, IQ does not measure creativity, wisdom, or personality)
  • IQ scores are fairly stable over much of a person's life
  • IQ tests are predictive of school and job performance, to a degree that does not significantly vary by socio-economic or racial-ethnic background
  • For people living in the prevailing conditions of the developed world, cognitive ability is substantially heritable, and while the impact of family environment on the IQ of children is substantial, after adolescence this effect becomes difficult to detect.
  • Especially in developing nations, there are many factors that may adversely affect IQ. See Health and intelligence.

Sternberg writes that conventional tests of intelligence can be useful, but only if they are interpreted very carefully, taking into account the factors that can affect them, including cross-cultural issues. Conventional IQ tests, writes Sternberg, need to be used in conjunction with other measures if they are to give a complete picture of human intelligence.

Multiple intelligences

Ben Underwood Though blind exhibits exceptional skill and coordination. A combination of spatial and Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. cbs video
Main article: multiple intelligences

There are critics of IQ tests who advocate using alternative views of intelligence, such as multiple intelligences. This difference of point of view may have implications for the discussion regarding race and intelligence, see Race and intelligence (explanations).

According to Howard Gardner Multiple Intelligences include

  • Linguistic
  • Logical-mathematical
  • Spatial
  • Bodily-kinesthetic
  • Musical
  • Naturalistic
  • Interpersonal
  • Intrapersonal

Facial recognition ability has shown differences by race. In general, other-race faces are less accurately recognized than same race faces but classified faster by race. In the US Blacks' performance is significantly better than that of whites', and blacks are better at recognizing faces of whites than whites are at recognizing blacks. Richard Ferraro writes that facial recognition is an example of a neuropsychological measure that can be used to assess cognitive abilities that are salient within African-American culture. One possibility is that expertise in perceiving faces of particular races is associated with increased ability to extract information about the spatial relationships between different features.

Savant Syndrome

Main article: Autistic savant
File:Paris skyline wiltshire.jpg
Tokyo skyline drawn from memory by Stephen Wiltshire

Gardner used case studies of Autistic Savants as part of his theory on multiple intelligences. On one hand they have severe mental disabilities and thus impaired social skills, on the other they have some extraordinary mental abilities not found in most people. The Savant Syndrome skills involve striking feats of memory and often include arithmetic calculation and sometimes unusual abilities in art or music. There is actually a disproportionate regularity with which the triad of blindness, mental disability and musical genius occurs in savant syndrome . Example includes Derek Paravicini who has severe learning disability but can remember every song he has ever heard.

Research

Main article: Race and intelligence (Research)

Race and intelligence research tries to measure the gaps between different races or ethnicities and to find the causes for these gaps. Average test scores of races or ethnicities varies depending on the method and setting used to test intelligence, the health and economic situation of the test takers, the presence of stereotype threat, and the period in history when the test was performed. Some studies have shown that gaps in test scores are closing, while other researchers write that the gaps have stopped closing in some nations.

Test data

Average IQ scores of racial and ethnic groups living in North American, Europe and East Asia according to Template:AYref. The normalization average of 100 is shown as a dotted line. Each dot is the average IQ from a single study. Datasets from South/Central America and Africa were criticized as being unrepresentative by a review of IQ and the Wealth of Nations, a previous book by Lynn.
Main article: Race and intelligence (test data)

The modern controversy surrounding intelligence and race focuses on the results of IQ studies conducted during the second half of the 20th century, mainly in the United States and some other industrialized nations. In almost every testing situation where tests were administered and evaluated correctly, a difference of approximately one standard deviation was observed in the US between the mean IQ score of Blacks and Whites. Attempted world-wide compilations of average IQ by race generally place Ashkenazi Jews at the top, followed by East Asians, Whites, other Asians, Arabs, Blacks and Australian Aborigines. See IQ and the Wealth of Nations for an attempted compilation of average IQ for different nations and a discussion of associated measurement problems. The IQ scores vary greatly among different nations for the same group. Blacks in Africa score much lower than Blacks in the US. Some reports indicate that the Black–White gap is smaller in the UK than in the U.S. Many studies also show large differences in IQ between different groups of Whites. For example, in Northern Ireland the IQ gap between Protestants and Catholics are as large as that between Blacks and Whites in the US. For example, in Israel, large gaps in test scores and achievement separate Ashkenazi Jews from other groups such as the Sephardi.

Gaps are seen in other tests of cognitive ability or aptitude, including university admission exams such as the SAT and GRE as well as employment tests for corporate settings and the military (Roth et al. 2001). Measures of school achievement correlate fairly well with IQ, especially in younger children. In the United States, achievement tests find that by 12th grade Black students are performing on average only as well as White and Asian students in 8th grade; Hispanic students do only slightly better than Blacks. Whether the gaps are narrowing or not is debated.

Explanations

Main article: Race and intelligence (Explanations)
The height of this "ordinary genetically varied corn" is 100% heritable, but the difference between the groups is totally environmental.

The consensus among intelligence researchers is that IQ differences between individuals of the same race reflect (1) real, (2) functionally/socially significant, and (3) substantially genetic differences in the general intelligence factor. A consensus also exists for the view that average IQ differences between races reflect (1) real and (2) significant differences in the same g factor. However, it is a matter of debate whether IQ differences between races in the U.S. are (3a) entirely environmental or (3b) partly genetic. Several published consensus statements agree that the large differences between the average IQ scores of Blacks and Whites in the U.S. cannot be attributed to biases in test construction, nor can they be explained just by simple differences in socio-economic status, however they are still well with in the range that may be attributed to other environmental factors. The debate over causal explanations focuses predominately on the IQ gaps seen in developed countries. There is a consensus that IQ in developing countries is depressed due at least in part to poor health and nutrition.

Regarding the IQ gaps in the U.S., it has also been suggested that Black culture disfavors academic achievement and fosters an environment that is damaging to IQ (Boykin, 1994). Likewise, it is argued that a persistence of racism reinforces this negative effect. John Ogbu (1978, 1994) has developed a hypothesis that the condition of being a "caste-like minority" affects motivation and achievement, depressing IQ. Many anthropologists have argued that intelligence is a cultural category; some cultures emphasize speed and competition more than others, for example. Even proponents of the view that the IQ gap is caused partly by genetic differences recognize that non-genetic factors are likely involved. Non-genetic biological factors that affect IQ have been proposed. Increased rates of low birth weight babies and lower rates of breastfeeding in Blacks as compared to Whites are some factors of many that have been proposed to affect the IQ gap. The Flynn effect is often cited as evidence that average IQ scores have changed greatly and rapidly, for reasons poorly understood, noting that average IQ in the US may have been below 75 before the start of this effect, and thus some argue that the IQ gap between races could change in the future or is changing, especially if the effect started earlier for Whites.

Some researchers argue that the IQ gap is partly genetic. They argues that while plausible environmental explanation for the lower mean IQ in Blacks in the U.S. can be offered in many cases, these explanations are less capable of explaining the higher average IQ of East Asians than Whites,(Rushton & Jensen, 2005). To support these claims, they most often cite: (1) worldwide Black-White-East Asian differences in IQ, reaction time, and brain size; (2) correlation between the extent to which IQ subtests measure g, the magnitude of Black-White-East Asian average IQ differences on those subtests (called Spearman's hypothesis), and measures of those subtests' heritability; and (3) the rising heritability of IQ with age (within races) and the disappearance by adulthood of shared environmental effects on IQ (e.g., family income, education, and home environment). Critics argue that there are counter-arguments to these arguments, and present results they see as contradicting a genetic explanation (which in turn are criticized by those arguing for a genetic role), such as studies on ancestry, adoption, and cross-fostering. For example, skin color among blacks have an extremely low correlation with IQ.

Interpretations

Main article: Race and intelligence (interpretations)
File:Two Curve Bell with Jobs.jpg
These are idealized normal curves comparing the IQs of Blacks and Whites in the US in 1981. Source: Social Consequences by Gottfredson. Labels show Gottefredson's expectations for job and life potential for people of different IQ's.

Given the observed differences in IQ scores between certain groups, a great deal of debate revolves around the significance of these observations. Various interpretations of test data lead to a multitude of conflicting conclusions as to which specific explanations the data support.

Some people have attributed differential economic growth between nations to differences in the intelligence of their populations. One example is Richard Lynn's IQ and the Wealth of Nations. The book is sharply criticized in the peer-reviewed paper The Impact of National IQ on Income and Growth. Another peer-reviewed paper, Intelligence, Human Capital, and Economic Growth: An Extreme-Bounds Analysis, finds a strong connection between intelligence and economic growth. It has been argued that East Asian nations underachieve compared to IQ scores. One suggested explanation is that verbal IQ is more important than visuospatial IQ.

Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel instead argues that historical differences in economic and technological development for different areas can be explained by differences in geography (which affects factors like population density and spread of new technology) and differences in available crops and domesticatable animals. However, racialist scientist John Philippe Rushton suggests these environmental differences may operate in part by ] for higher levels of IQ There is no evidence to suggest that such selective forces occur in regards to IQ. Consensus at the American Psychological Association is that a partly genetic hypothesis is as of now, inadequate in explaining differences in IQ among population groups.

Media portrayal

Scientific racism: an American magazine, Harper’s Weekly, illustrates how the Irish are similar to 'Negroes' and wonders why both groups are not extinct (1899).
Some regard Jar Jar as thinly veiled version of the type of portrayals used in minstrelsy to lampoon the supposed stupidity of Black people.
Main article: Race and intelligence (Media portrayal) See also: Acting white

Race and intelligence are sometimes portrayed as related in media. People of various races have been portrayed as more or less intelligent in media such as films, books, and newspapers. Likewise, reporting on research into race and intelligence has been criticized: either for giving scientific theories of race too much credit, or for rejecting the theories of some researchers in the name of racial harmony.

Critics of contemporary media have highlighted portrayals of minorities as less intelligent (or in the case of Asians, on occasion more intelligent) in films and movies. Entman and Rojeki assert that media images of Blacks may have profound effects on the perceptions by both Blacks and Whites about black intellectual potential.

Even so-called positive images of Black people can lead to stereotypes about intelligence. In Darwin's Athletes: how sport has damaged Black America and preserved the myth of race John Hoberman writes that the prominence of African-American athletes encourages a de-emphasis on academic achievement in black communities.Film director Spike Lee explains that these images have negative impacts "In my neighborhood, we looked up to athletes, guys who got the ladies, and intelligent people," said Lee. " If you're intelligent, you're called a white guy or girl."

Blacks are not the only ethnic group in the US to be stereotyped as stupid. Shortly after the large waves of immigration in the 19th century and number of immigrant groups such as the Irish were stereotyped as being more closely related to apes or dogs and therefore intellectually inferior. This changed after the definition of "white" was expanded to include the Irish. Unlike other racial stereotypes of intelligence, the 19th century pseudo-scientific ideas about Irish stupidity and inferiority are not supported by most hereditarian proponents of modern race research. Other stereotypes, of Blacks, Jews and Asians endure to this day as do the findings of Hereditarian researchers about these groups.

Other aspects of the media portrayal of race and intelligence include recent books asserting a genetic cause for group differences and surveys or consensus statements made by groups of scientists.

Controversies

Main article: Race and intelligence (Controversies)

Utility of research

Main article: Race and intelligence (Utility of research)

Theories of race and intelligence have been challenged on grounds of their utility. Critics want to know what purpose such research could serve and why it has been an intense an area of focus for a few researchers. Some defend the research, saying it has egalitarian aims or that it is pure science, others say that the true motivation for the research is the same as that of the eugenics movement and other forms of scientific racism. Even supporters of intelligence research have described such research as analogous to "working with dynamite" or "dangerous play" in sports.

As to whether research in this area is desirable, John C. Loehlin wrote in 1992, "Research on racial differences in intelligence is desirable if the research is appropriately motivated, honestly done, and adequately communicated." Defenders of the research suggest that both scientific curiosity and a desire to draw benefits from the research are appropriate motivations. Researchers such as Richard Lynn have suggested that conclusions from the research can help make political decisions, such as the type of educational opportunities and expectations of achievement policy makers should have for people of different races. Researchers such as Charles Murray have used their conclusions to criticize social programs based on racial equality that fail in Murray's eyes to recognize the realities of racial differences.

Sociologist and demographer Reanne Frank says that some race and intelligence research has been abused "The most malignant are the "true believers," who subscribe to the typological distinctions that imply hierarchical rankings of worth across different races. Although this group remains small, the members' work is often widely publicized and well known (e.g., Herrnstein and Murray 1994; Rushton 1991)"

Potential for bias

Main article: Race and intelligence (Potential for bias)

Proponents of genetic explanations of race/IQ correlation have often been criticized both of scientific misconduct and of their intimate links with groups that have historic ties to Nazis and eugenics of the early 19th century, such as the Pioneer Fund. The Pioneer Fund has been characterized by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group.

Proponents of genetic explanations of race/IQ correlation have in turn accused their critics of suppressing scientific debate in the name of political correctness. They claim harassment and interference with both their work and funding.

Policy implications

See also: Intelligence and public policy

Public policy implications of IQ and race research are one of the greatest sources of controversy surrounding this issue. Regardless of the source of the gap, most educators agree that it must be addressed. They often advocate equitable funding for education.

Some proponents of a genetic interpretation of the IQ gap, such as Template:A(Y)ref and Template:A(Y)ref, have sometimes argued that their interpretation does not in itself demand any particular policy response: while a conservative/libertarian commentator may feel the results justify, for example, reductions in affirmative action, a liberal commentator may argue from a Rawlsian point of view (that genetic advantages are undeserved and unjust) for substantial affirmative action. Since all races have representatives at all levels of the IQ curve, this means any policy based on low IQ affects members of all races.

According to the "Mainstream Science on Intelligence" statement published in Intelligence in 1997:

The research findings neither dictate nor preclude any particular social policy, because they can never determine our goals. They can, however, help us estimate the likely success and side-effects of pursuing those goals via different means.

While not specifically race-related, policies focused on geographical regions or nations may have disproportionate influences on certain racial groups and on cognitive development. Differences in health care, nutrition, regulation of environmental toxins, and geographic distribution of diseases and control strategies between the developing world and developed nations have all been subjects of policies or policy recommendations (see health and nutrition policies relating to intelligence).

Finally, Gregory Stock, writes that germinal choice technology may one day be able to select or change directly alleles found to influence intelligence or racially identifying traits (such as skin color; see gene SLC24A5), making them susceptible to biotechnological intervention.

End material

See also

Notes

  1. "Race as Biology Is Fiction, Racism as a Social Problem Is Real: Anthropological and Historical Perspectives on the Social Construction of Race." by Audrey Smedley and Brian D. Smedley
  2. Metaphysics of Race Rutledge M. Dennis The Journal of Negro Education, Vol. 64, No. 3, Myths and Realities: African Americans and the Measurement of Human Abilities (Summer, 1995), pp. 243-252
  3. A History of Race/ism Produced By: Tim McCaskell Toronto District School Board
  4. Jalata, Asafa 1954- "Race and Ethnicity in East Africa (review)" Africa Today - Volume 48, Number 4, Winter 2001, pp. 134-136 Indiana University Press
  5. The Invention of the White Race By Chantal Mouffe, Theodore (Theodore W.) Allen
  6. Media, Stereotypes and the Perpetuation of Racism in Canada by James Crawford

    Indians were seen as a homogeneous group of savages despite the fact that individual groups varied extensively and had several well developed social systems. Black people were also portrayed as savage, uncivilized and having low intelligence. By creating these social constructs, expansion into North America was justified.

  7. Reynolds, C. R. (Mar 2000). "Why is psychometric research on bias in mental testing so often ignored?". Psychology Public Policy and Law 6
  8. Reynolds, C. R., Chastain, R. L., Kaufman, A. S. and Mclean, J. E. (Win 1987). "Demographic Characteristics and IQ among Adults - Analysis of the WAIS-R Standardization Sample as a Function of the Stratification Variables". Journal of School Psychology 25 (4): 323-342.
  9. Template:AYref; Template:AYref; Template:AYref; Template:AYref; Template:AYref. For samples of individual studies showing similar results, see the National Collaborative Perinatal Project, reported by Template:AYref; the Minnesota Transracial Adoption Study reported by Template:AYref; also Template:AYref, Template:AYref, Template:AYref, Template:AYref, Template:AYref; Template:AYref; Template:AYref Template:AYref; Template:AYref, Template:AYref; Template:AYref; Template:AYref; Template:AYref; Template:AYref; Template:AYref; Template:AYref; Template:AYref; Template:AYref; Template:AYref; Template:AYref; Template:AYref. For scientific (though not public) consensus statements see Template:AYref and Template:AYref.
  10. The gap shows up before age 3 on most standardized tests after matching for some variables such as 'maternal education'. Other clustering: Template:AYref; Template:AYref; Template:AYref; Template:AYref; Template:AYref; Template:AYref; Template:AYref, Template:AYref; Template:AYref; Template:AYref. The East-Asian/White/Black difference in average IQ can be measured in very young children. For example, a one standard deviation gap is observed in Black and White 3-year olds matched for gender, birth order, and maternal education (Template:AYref). Template:AYref found that by age 6 the average IQ of East Asian children is 107, 103 for White children and 89 for Black children. Template:A(Y)ref found that the same trichotomy in brain size and IQ held at 4 months, 1 year, and 7 years of age.
  11. Template:AYref reports on the distribution of IQ within and between families, social classes, and races using a technique to partition variance called ANOVA. The average IQ difference between two siblings (within families) is about 12 points, compared to 17 points for two strangers and 20 points for one White and one Black American. Jensen attributes the large differences within families to the high heritability of IQ and the small influence of family environment.
  12. Reviewed by Template:AYref. See Template:AYref for examples.
  13. Some researchers explicitly reject the latter terms as inaccurately global in connotation and insensitive, but the terms are used by some critics (Template:AYref, p. 42).
  14. There are no public-policy implications: A reply to Rushton and Jensen (2005) Robert Sternberg
  15. Entman, Robert M. and Andrew Rojecki The Black Image in the White Mind: Media and Race in America 2001
  16. Darwin's Athletes: how sport has damaged Black America and preserved the myth of race By John Milton Hoberman. ISBN 0395822920
  17. Cicero warned the Romans not to purchase the British as slaves because they were so difficult to train (Sowell, 1994, p. 156); though Caesar did feel they "had a certain value for rough work," (Churchill, 1974, p. 2.)
  18. RACE, GENETICS, AND IQ by Richard E. Nisbett
  19. Social Darwinism, Scientific Racism, and the Metaphysics of Race Rutledge M. Dennis The Journal of Negro Education, Vol. 64, No. 3, Myths and Realities: African Americans and the Measurement of Human Abilities (Summer, 1995), pp. 243-252
  20. A History of Race/ism Produced By: Tim McCaskell Toronto District School Board
  21. Jalata, Asafa 1954- "Race and Ethnicity in East Africa (review)" Africa Today - Volume 48, Number 4, Winter 2001, pp. 134-136 Indiana University Press
  22. The Invention of the White Race By Chantal Mouffe, Theodore (Theodore W.) Allen
  23. Media, Stereotypes and the Perpetuation of Racism in Canada by James Crawford

    Indians were seen as a homogeneous group of savages despite the fact that individual groups varied extensively and had several well developed social systems. Black people were also portrayed as savage, uncivilized and having low intelligence. By creating these social constructs, expansion into North America was justified.

  24. Eugenics: America's Darkest Days
  25. Template:AYref, Template:AYref, Template:AYref, Template:AYref, Template:AYref, Template:AYref
  26. According to historian of psychology Graham Richards there was widespread critical debate within psychology about the conceptual underpinnings of this early race difference research (Template:AYref). These studies include Estabrooks' (1928) two papers on the limitations of methodology used in the research; Dearborn and Long’s (1934) overview of the criticisms by several psychologists (Garth, Thompson, Peterson, Pinter, Herskovits, Daniel, Price, Wilkerson, Freeman, Rosenthal and C.E. Smith) in a collection they edited and Klineburg, who wrote three major critiques, one in 1928, and two in 1935. Richards also notes that with over a 1000 publications within psychology during the interwar years there had been a large internal debate. Toward the end of the time period almost all those publishing, including most of those who began with a pro-race differences stance, were firmly arguing against race differences research. Richards regards the scientific controversy to be dead at this point, although he also suggests reasons for its re-emergence in the late nineteen sixties.
  27. Template:AYref
  28. George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography by Webster Griffin Tarpley and Anton Chaitkin, 1992 Executive Intelligence Review, Chapter 11
  29. George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography by Webster Griffin Tarpley and Anton Chaitkin, 1992 Executive Intelligence Review, Chapter 11
  30. Template:AYref
  31. Template:AYref, Template:AYref (given in Template:AYref's summary, p.599)
  32. Template:AYref, Template:AYref (given in Template:AYref's summary, p. 599)
  33. It is well established that within-population genetic diversity is greatest within Sub-Saharan Africa, and decreases with distance from Africa. One study estimates that only 6.3% of the total human genetic diversity is explained by race. (See: The Biological Meaning of “Race” by Matt Riese) This value is comparable to other reports which find that on average approximately 85% of genetic variation occurs within populations. In a hypothetical situation with two populations and a single gene with two alleles, this is equivalent to allele frequencies of 30% + 70% in one population and 70% + 30% in the other. Thus, using this single gene to classify individuals into populations would result in a 30% misclassification rate.
  34. Template:AYref, Template:AYref, Template:AYref, Template:AYref, . Lewontin, for example argues that there is no biological basis for race on the basis of research indicating that more genetic variation exists within such races than between them Template:AYref.

    Some critics of race may not consider this a problem for race and intelligence inquiries. Jared Diamond, who praises Cavalli-Sforza's genetics research over the decades for "demolishing scientists' attempts to classify human populations into races in the same way that they classify birds and other species into races"(Template:AYref), also argues "in mental ability New Guineans are probably genetically superior to Westerners" due to that intelligence was likely selected for in hunter-gatherer New Guinea societies where the challenges were tribal warfare and food procurement, compared with high population density European civilizations where the major survival pressure was on genes for resisting epidemics (Diamond 1997/99, p.21).
  35. Template:AYref, Template:AYref. Neil Risch argues: "One could make the same arguments about sex and age! . . you can undermine any definitional system. . . In a recent study. . . we actually had a higher discordance rate between self-reported sex and markers on the X chromosome between genetic structure versus self-description, 99.9% concordance. . . So you could argue that sex is also a problematic category. And there are differences between sex and gender; self-identification may not be correlated with biology perfectly. And there is sexism. And you can talk about age the same way. A person's chronological age does not correspond perfectly with his biological age for a variety of reasons, both inherited and non-inherited. Perhaps just using someone's actual birth year is not a very good way of measuring age. Does that mean we should throw it out? . . . Any category you come up with is going to be imperfect, but that doesn't preclude you from using it or the fact that it has utility" (Template:AYref).
  36. Template:AYref, Template:AYref, Template:AYref, Template:AYref, Template:AYref, Template:AYref: "If enough markers are used... individuals can be partitioned into genetic clusters that match major geographic subdivisions of the globe".
  37. Template:AYref
  38. Bindon, Jim. University of Alabama. "Post World War II". 2005. August 28, 2006.
  39. How "Caucasoids" Got Such Big Crania and Why They Shrank
  40. According to a recent review by Template:AYref, seven large-scale studies of positive selection in the human genome have been published. The "advantageous traits" that were being selected for are mostly unknown, but some make inferences based on the known functions of those genes in the regions that show signs of selection.
  41. Template:AYref, Template:AYref, Template:AYref, Template:AYref, Template:AYref. The neural dopamine gene studied in Harpending and Cochran, previously found to occur in substantially different worldwide frequencies, is also tied to behavior, with bearers displaying greater novelty-seeking behavior and being at increased risk for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Harpending and Cochran suggest this gene "may be a model system for understanding the relationship between genetic variation and human cultural diversity," noting high frequencies in South American Indians, such as the Yanomamo (sometimes referred to as "the Fierce People"), intermediate frequencies in Europeans and Africans, and very low frequencies in East Asians and !Kung Bushmen (sometimes referred to as "the Harmless People").
    See the NY Times' "Researchers Say Human Brain Is Still Evolving" (September 8, 2005), and "Still Evolving, Human Genes Tell New Story" (March 7, 2006) for discussion of Mekel-Bobrov et al. and Evans et al., and Voight et al.
  42. Intelligence, Race, and Genetics Robert J. Sternberg, Elena L. Grigorenko, and Kenneth K. Kidd Yale University
  43. 'Beyond the Bell Curve: Toward a Model of Talent and Character Development Serge Madhere The Journal of Negro Education, Vol. 64, No. 3, Myths and Realities: African Americans and the Measurement of Human Abilities (Summer, 1995), pp. 326-339
  44. Template:AYref
  45. Predictive validity of two short-forms of the WPPSI: a 3-year follow-up study.
  46. The Predictive Value of IQ Sternberg, Robert J. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly - Volume 47, Number 1, January 2001, pp. 1-41
  47. APA Task Force Report, "Intelligence: Knowns and Unknowns"
  48. For statements directly reporting what views are in the majority see Template:AYref, Template:AYref, and Template:AYref. These findings are also discussed in the major handbooks, manuals, and encyclopedias on intelligence. For more detail, see the articles on IQ and intelligence.
  49. PEOPLE ARE POOR AT CROSS-RACE FACIAL APA News Release December 3, 2000
  50. Event-related potentials and time course of the 'other-race' face classification advantage. Neuroreport. 15(5):905-910, April 9, 2004. Caldara, Roberto CA; Rossion, Bruno 1; Bovet, Pierre; Hauert, Claude-Alain. 2004
  51. Children's Ability to Recognize Other Children's Faces Saul Feinman, Doris R. Entwisle Child Development, Vol. 47, No. 2 (Jun., 1976), pp. 506-510
  52. A 1991 study found that white subjects performed significantly more poorly on trials involving African American faces than on trials involving White faces, whereas no such difference was obtained among African American subjects. Other-Race Face Perception D. Stephen Lindsay, PhilipC. Jack, Jr.,and Marcus A.Christian. Journal of Applied Psychology
  53. Minority and Cross-Cultural Aspects of Neuropsychological Assessment By F. Richard Ferraro Page 90 ISBN 9026518307
  54. Diamond &Carey, 1986; Rhodeset al.,1989
  55. Carraher, Carraher, and Schliemann (1985) studied a group of Brazilian street children. The investigation found that the same children who are able to do the mathematics needed to run their street businesses were often unable to do mathematics in a formal setting. See: Street Mathematics and School Mathematics By Terezinha Nunes, David William Carraher, Analucia Dias Schliemann ISBN 0521388139
  56. Olness, K. "Effects on brain development leading to cognitive impairment: a worldwide epidemic," Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics 24, no. 2 (2003): 120–30.
  57. Black Americans reduce the racial IQ gap: Evidence from standardization samples William T. Dickens and James R. Flynn. Oct. 2006
  58. Data taken from tables in review by Template:AYref.
  59. Heredity April 2004, Volume 92, Number 4, Pages 359-360
  60. How Heritability Misleads about Race
  61. Thomas Volken, "The Impact of National IQ on Income and Growth."
  62. Template:AYref
  63. Template:AYref
  64. Richard Nisbett argues in his 2004 The Geography of Thought that some of these regional differences shaped lasting cultural traits, such as the collectivism required by East Asian rice irrigation, compared with the individualism of ancient Greek herding, maritime mercantilism, and money crops wine and olive oil (pp. 34-35).
  65. This theory is discussed by Template:AYref (pp. 435-437), Template:AYref and Template:AYref in general and by both Template:AYref and Steve Sailer with respect to Guns, Germs, and Steel. See Race and intelligence (Explanations)#Rushton's application of r-K theory. .. Template:AYref state generally that "a number of recent studies have detected more signals of adaptation in non-African populations than in Africans, and some of those studies have conjectured that non-Africans might have experienced greater pressures to adapt to new environments than Africans have" (Template:AYref, Template:AYref, Template:AYref, Template:AYref, Template:AYref).
  66. {http://www.iq-tests.eu/iq-test-The-view-of-the-American-Psychological-Association-1120.html
  67. Patricia J. Williams: "Racial Ventriloquism". The Nation. June 17, 1999. Retrieved June 11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  68. THE PORTRAYALS OF MINORITY CHARACTERS IN ENTERTAINING ANIMATED CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS
  69. Media Portrayals of Major League Baseball Pitchers
  70. Entman, Robert M. and Andrew Rojecki The Black Image in the White Mind: Media and Race in America. 2001
  71. Darwin's Athletes: how sport has damaged Black America and preserved the myth of race By John Milton Hoberman ISBN 0395822920
  72. Spike Lee discusses racial stereotypes
  73. Early hereditarian James Redfield's 1852 book Comparative physiognomy; or, Resemblances between men and animals saw Irishmen as dog-like.
  74. Deconstructing Whiteness: Irish Women in Britain Mary J. Hickman, Bronwen Walter Feminist Review, No. 50, The Irish Issue: The British Question (Summer, 1995), pp. 5-19 doi:10.2307/1395487
  75. Alien Menace
  76. e.g., Sternberg, 2003, pp. 386-387
  77. e.g., Sternberg, 2003, pp. 386-387
  78. Hunt & Carlson, in press
  79. Frank, Reanne, The Misuse of Biology in Demographic Research on Racial/Ethnic Differences: A Reply to van den Oord and Rowe, Demography - Volume 38, Number 4, November 2001, pp. 563-567
  80. Achieving Equitable Education in Calhoun County
  81. Educational Studies: A Jrnl of the American Educ. Studies Assoc.
  82. Cite error: The named reference mackenzie was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  83. For example, the policy recommendations of The Bell Curve were denounced by many. Template:AYref wrote: "We can imagine no recommendation for using the government to manipulate fertility that does not have dangers. But this highlights the problem: The United States already has policies that inadvertently social-engineer who has babies, and it is encouraging the wrong women. If the United States did as much to encourage high-IQ women to have babies as it now does to encourage low-IQ women, it would rightly be described as engaging in aggressive manipulation of fertility. The technically precise description of America's fertility policy is that it subsidizes births among poor women, who are also disproportionately at the low end of the intelligence distribution. We urge generally that these policies, represented by the extensive network of cash and services for low-income women who have babies, be ended. (p. 548)" Two year later the 1996 U.S. welfare reform substantially cut these programs. In a discussion of the future political outcomes of an intellectually stratified society, they stated that they: "fear that a new kind of conservatism is becoming the dominant ideology of the affluent - not in the social tradition of an Edmund Burke or in the economic tradition of an Adam Smith but ’conservatism’ along Latin American lines, where to be conservative has often meant doing whatever is necessary to preserve the mansions on the hills from the menace of the slums below. (p. 518)"Moreover, they fear that an increasing welfare will create a "custodial state": "a high-tech and more lavish version of the Indian reservation of some substantial minority of the nation’s population. They also predict increasing totalitarianism: It is difficult to imagine the United States preserving its heritage of individualism, equal rights before the law, free people running their own lives, once it is accepted that a significant part of the population must be made permanent wards of the states. (p. 526)"
  84. Template:AYref
  85. Template:AYref
  86. Gregory Stock argues "current debates about whether some of the differences among ethnic and racial groups are cultural or biological will soon become irrelevant, given the coming " (Template:AYref, p. 194; race and intelligence discussed on pp. 44-47).

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Main article: Race and intelligence (References)

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